Missing Pieces
by rEckLeSsLy.cOnFIneD
Summary: [Reno x Tifa] Standing frozen under the rain. She's got a question, and only he has the answer. [oneshot]


**AN:** Sorry if it's a litte bit on the sad side.  
**Disclaimer:** I do not own Reno or Tifa.

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Missing Pieces

Love had always been a thing of simplicity in her mind, Easy, obtainable. There'd never really been any kind of doubt in her mind that love would find its way upon her.

No, that wasn't the problem.

Love had found its way. Its path to her heart was paved but not quite smooth, bumpy and chipped in the places where she'd loved and lost, but carefully rebuilt when she'd won. It was a game after all, a game you never could know whether or not you'd win, a game you couldn't cheat on.

Because love, she could admit, never ended up the way you wanted it to. If you could cheat on love, there wouldn't be such things as heartbreaks. Nobody cheats to lose.

She'd never thought that love, the love she knew she'd eventually have, would be the painful kind. The _un_obtainable kind, the kind opposite of what she imagined for herself when growing up as a child.

It was then, as she walked under the darkness of the rain and midnight sky that she thought of all this. Of all that had happened, and of all that could never be no matter how much she wanted it to. After all, just like you couldn't cheat on love you couldn't cheat on life.

Shit happened. Like now, in the cold, her t-shirt soaked to her skin and her long hair laying flat to the sides of her usually rosy cheeks, straggly and knotted. Now, as her freezing hands were crossed under her chest, makeup running down her face and usual smile hiding under a frown.

Her boots trudged through the puddles and her mind was elsewhere, a faraway look placed in her wine-colored eyes as her shoulders shook from the wet. She couldn't even place it, no matter how hard she tried, she could never quite understand what was missing. What was making her so terribly unhappy.

She was confused. The rain came down even harder now, chilling her very bones, and somewhere a far off thought told her that she should go home, before she got hypothermia.

A flickering street lamp took hold of her slow gaze. It was trying so hard to come on, shining the dark street with light for seconds at a time. She lifted her graceful head, watching for minutes under the light, transfixed. She didn't even move when the sound of footsteps echoed over the rain.

"...I thought it was you."

Her head turned slowly. The street lamp seemed to have finally died, so she didn't recognize the dark figure before her. She could feel a pair of eyes on her, taking her in. She wished it would go on again, if just once more. Lightning went somewhere in the distance, but it was enough. His red hair, even totally soaked, was a dead giveaway.

"Reno." Her voice sounded hollow and dead, even to him. Darkness again.

"Yeah. I didn't expect to see anyone out here, let alone you. What're you doin' out here?" He said to her, the goofiness in his tone completely gone. Reno of the Turks, serious?

"...Thinking. It's been a while. One, maybe two years?" She replied, softly. He could hardly hear her over the rain. It felt good to see her again, be around her again.

"Something like that. Surprised you even remember me, never did more than cause trouble for you guys, huh?" He was grinning, she could feel it. She found herself grinning back, even though he couldn't see it.

"I guess so."

"What're you thinking about?" He asked. Light, airy. He didn't even expect her to tell him the truth, she realized, he just wanted to hear something. A few seconds passed, as they stood facing each other under the dead lamp post.

"A little bit of everything, I suppose."

"Well, that clears that up. It would've down right pissed me off if you hadn't fully explained yourself." Okay, maybe not totally serious. She snorted, then turned her head. As if he could see her anyways.

"...Reno?"

"Yeah Lockheart?"

"Do you...do you ever get that feeling when there's something missing?"

"What do you mean?"

"Like, you have everything you think you've ever wanted, but...you still feel like there's a part of you that isn't completely whole?"

Silence. He tried to see her, just a part of her face that could give him any kind of expression. He wanted desperately to see her, that's all he wanted. But the light would not burn.

"Do you wanna know something Lockheart?" He finally said. She said nothing, so he took it as a yes. Continued. "I always wanted to kiss you."

Her eyes widened, but he couldn't see that. He wanted a reaction from her, but he couldn't see one. She felt his hand tug on hers, puling her arms to her sides, and she didn't know how to let go. Didn't even know if she wanted to.

"...What?" She finally whispered. The rain was coming down harder, pelting her arms and face. She couldn't even feel her toes anymore.

"I mean it. First time I saw you, I wanted to. I always thought it was a shame I couldn't. I've always really wanted to, even now."

"Now?"

"Now. As we stand in the freezing rain, looking our absolute worst, I still wanna kiss you Lockheart." His voice was thick, hoarse. He moved closer to her, tightening the grip over her hand. "Do you think I could kiss you Lockheart, just this once?"

His body was so warm, so nice against hers. His other arm had snaked around her waist, pulling her towards him. She never resisted, never even tried as he leaned down and placed his lips against her in the darkness.

It lasted an eternity, he couldn't get enough of her. There under the rain, frozen and lost, she forgot about everything but the gentle taste of a man she hardly knew, a man she wanted to hold on to and never let go. A man who'd wrapped his arms carefully around her, cradling her, as she hungrily placed her hands in his hair, begging for more.

But it couldn't be, it could never ever be.

He finally pulled away, gasping for breath, his bright eyes visible to her now. Grinning, always grinning. She felt tears forming when he stepped back, his body heat lost into the rain. He was fighting it, the urge to sweep her up once more.

But they knew. It was useless to fight for something you couldn't have.

He was going to leave, walk away into the darkness of the night and out of her life as quickly as he'd entered it, but her voice caught his ears one last time. Stalling him.

"Reno!" She cried, standing where she was under the dead street lamp. He turned his head to face her. Oh, how he longed to see her just once.

"Yeah Lockheart?"

"You...you never answered my question." She mumbled. But he just shook his head.

"I did Tifa. I did." He said slowly. Confusion, as a miracle happened.

The light above her head shone to life, bringing into view the sight of the man she realized had been the biggest crack in her heart of all. His flaming hair, sopping wet, bright eyes and handsome face tore at her chest. She committed the sight of him to memory, his uneven smirk and casual stance.

How she longed for him.

The light stayed on, as she watched him turn and walk into the darkness. Followed his progress until he was nothing more than a blur in the shadows. Only then, did the light finally die out.

And she knew. When his shape disappeared for good, she knew. They could never be, and for Reno, it had been all he'd ever wanted.

No, life and love could never be cheated. Why would she want to lose the only man who'd managed to make her heart completely smooth, if only for a single, happy moment?

Why would she want to lose the man she wanted more than anything else in the world?

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AN:** Wrote while listening to Coldplay's "the Scientist". Trust me when I say anyone who listens to it will feel ike writing a depressing story, alright? Still a good song though... 


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